<p>hot</p>
<p>Very hot
but steamy too...
Miss America or Miss USA?
ahahahahahaha</p>
<p>
[quote]
I hate it when people use "they" when talking about a singular noun.
[/quote]
I'm breaking form here because this issue is one of my pet peeves. Now you get my mini-lecture about it.</p>
<p>What is wrong with using the singular they? The only real arguments against it are that "they" is plural but has a singular antecedent, or some appeal to the idea that "he" is actually unspecified for gender in this context.</p>
<p>But, man, this is wrong on so many levels. First, judgements about languages like this are questionable in-and-of themselves. What does it matter if it has a singular antecedent? People still understand you. Furthermore, language is defined by the people who speak it, not some Platonic ideal of "English" hovering above our heads to which our speech ought to conform -- or else! The idea that English exists outside of the way people speak it is just wrong. The difference between a living language and a dead language rests precisely in the fact that the former change over time and the latter do not. Trying to ossify the language is stupid and counterproductive.</p>
<p>But this isn't really about language change. The singular they is not a recent construction by any means. Hell, you can find it [url=<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/0ws0610.txt%5Din">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/0ws0610.txt]in</a> Shakespeare<a href="search%20for" title="As if I were their">/url</a>. In otherwords this has been in use long before there was a proscriptive description of English. Why wasn't this included, then, when the grammarians decided what was and what was not "proper" English?</p>
<p>It all goes back to that original argument: "they" is plural but has a singular antecedent. This inconsistency probably ruined their wonderful English grammar, so the singular they just had to go. But this of course is nonsense. Two distinct words can have the same phonetic realization (and underlying phonological representation, for that matter). German has this with the word "sie." Among other things it can mean "they," "them," "she," or "her." This doesn't confuse German-speakers, just as the singular they doesn't confuse English speakers.</p>
<p>You might say, "But Diocletian, German has grammatical gender." It's true, and of course English used to have it, also. This problem didn't exist then because one would just choose the appropriate pronoun corresponding to the grammatical gender of the antecedent. But now that English has natural gender the he/she/it trifecta is no longer satisfactory. Whether you like it or not when an English speaker hears "he" or "she" they're probably going to associate it with natural gender. And we all know that "it" just doesn't sound right -- it's even a little bit insulting. So what's an English speaker to do?</p>
<h2>Well, the natural thing is to create a new pronoun. Amazingly enough we have done just that: the singular they. Don't fight English -- use the singular they, today!</h2>
<p>And since I posted, I'll respond like I'm supposed to.</p>
<p>Miss America or Miss USA? I've never watched either, truth be told.</p>
<p>Vi or Emacs?</p>
<p>Vi
Is it just me or are all of these questions multiple choice?</p>
<p>Cherrywood or oak?</p>
<p>No some are opened ended. Oak.</p>
<p>Ever walk into a country themed restaurant and never see anyone working there who is remotely associated with the country? I walked into a Japanese restaurant and saw 3 white girls. WHat?</p>
<p>i've walked into a japanese restaraunt and everyone working there was clearly chinese. :)</p>
<p>Ever wonder why they haven't came out with vanilla milk yet? Chocolate milk seems to be doing well.</p>
<p>No, I haven't, though I suppose milk is rather close to what vanilla-flavored milk would taste like, anyway. Good idea, though; you should suggest it to Nestle and see what happens... :)</p>
<p>Glamoured up or au natural?</p>
<p>um, since au naturel means naked, i'll go with glamorous</p>
<p>do you read fashion magazines surreptitiously?</p>
<p>No the only magazine I read is the economist,</p>
<p>and SI and mad but w/e.</p>
<p>Which celebrity lives the best life?</p>
<p>hm i would have to say kate moss or another model...then again they don't eat that much...OK elizabeth hurley. she goes out with an indian guy. good for her, i'm sick of whiny asian guys who claim that could never happen :)</p>
<p>have you seen maggie q? she's gorgeous...google her</p>
<p>I have not seen her. nor will I google her because I am sick of models and their sickness.</p>
<p>Would you be afraid of a man named Blu Funk?</p>
<p>No
fyi maggie q is an asian actress and shes not sick...</p>
<p>anyway, have you ever been to minnesota
?</p>
<p>Yes</p>
<p>have you ever been skiing?</p>
<p>when i was very little...and i was SO cold i hated it. it was @ lake tahoe.</p>
<p>do you have an ipod?</p>
<p>but of course... the president is charging as we speak</p>
<p>do you like stucco?</p>
<p>It's not bad, but it doesn't go well in the Midwest... If I lived in California, though, it would be okay.</p>
<p>What was the last word you said to someone?</p>
<hr>
<p>to my mother about quitting my job</p>
<p>No-ad or coppertone?</p>
<p>coppertone</p>
<p>are you someone who tans or gets burned</p>
<p>I tan, baby! But I have been either working or studying all summer, so I am still pale. Besides, Chicago hasn't been getting as much sun as I hoped it would.</p>
<p>Which language would you rather study:
Latin or Greek?</p>
<p>latin for sure</p>
<p>is mila kunis your greek master? haha</p>
<p>depends on your definition of "master", if you know what i mean.</p>
<p>anyone interested in joining university theater?</p>